Temper Your Optimism, Cincinnati Bengals Fans

Laveranues Coles, Tank Johnson, Andre Smith, Rey Maualuga, Michael Johnson, Roy Williams, and Brian Leonard.

It would be hard to complain about the acquisitions of the Bengals in this off-season, but where are the remaining needs and weaknesses? Plenty of big names, but are they in positions of dire importance?

I hate to rain on the ongoing Bengals pleasure factory, but we have three unproven spots along the offensive line. Right tackle, left tackle and center. I’d say those are three pretty big weaknesses/question marks.

The glimmer of solace, and it pains me to say this, is the Steelers. They won a Super Bowl last season with the saddest offensive line a championship team has fielded (Nearly 30 regular season sacks).

The unproven, albeit paper-impressive, Bengals line will be the determining factor of this teams success in the 2009 campaign.

Carson Palmer is the catalyst to this offense but there isn’t much he can do from the seated position or with James Harrison chasing after him like a bully for his lunch money.

Don’t get me wrong, this off-season has made me an optimistic fella. But the offensive line is vital to all skill positions in the offense. While we might be set at wide receiver, running back and tight end, we are far from proven in the trenches.

The departure of Levi Jones proves there is a great deal of confidence in the personnel Paul Alexander has killing buffets and tossing dumbbells. A deal of confidence that has Marvin Lewis, Bob Bratkowski and Alexander’s jobs on the line, so to speak.

I can only hope what they see in Andre’s boobage, Anthony Collins’ six games of starting experience and Luigs’ year-old Remington Award is enough to keep Carson upright, Benson clean, and Chad celebrating.

Roy Williams Heading to the Jungle!

According to the Bengals official website, the team has agreed to terms with former Dallas Cowboy safety Roy Williams.

Williams, a five time Pro-Bowler, supposedly took a smaller contract to play with the Bengals and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, whom Williams played for during Zimmer’s time in Dallas.

Of Williams’ five Pro-Bowls, four of them were while playing for Zimmer. This explains why Williams chose Cincinnati over all the others.

I am happy with the acquisition and really like what the Bengals are doing, mixing good veteran players with the younger guys (especially with such a young defense.) The only question I have is: Who sits? Crocker or Ndukwe?

One thing that’s for sure, training camp is going to be filled with competition—and that certainly isn’t a bad thing!

Roast of Marvin Lewis Benefiting Big Brothers/Big Sisters

Tonight Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis got the razzing of a lifetime by local celebrities and personalities.

The Outback Steakhouse Roast of Marvin Lewis featured countless interesting auction items and a live auction hosted by former Bengals Dave Lapham and Anthony Munoz.

Among the items auctioned off by Lapham and Munoz were: passes for the Red’s Budweiser Suite, Jimmy Buffett tickets, and a Golf outing with Marvin Lewis.

Thousands of dollars were raised during the auction for the Big Brother Big Sister organization of Cincinnati.

The roast panel was manned by the owner of Montgomery Inn, Dean Gregory, the CEO of Cincinnati Bell, Jack Cassidy, WCPO Sports Director, Dennis Janson, NBC analyst and former Bengal, Cris Collinsworth, and WKRC Sports Director and Bengals radio commentator, Brad Johansen.

Political correctness and friendly jesting were put aside during the roast.

Here are a few of the more mild quotes. Keep in mind these are jokes and were not meant in earnest by the roast panelists, but to help raise money for children:

“I got this gig on the roast panel because the other five guys they asked to do this haven’t gotten out of jail in time,” Johanson said.

“I hope they do better this year, and I know Marvin is working hard to remove ‘Fumble right’, ‘Fumble left’ and my favorite ‘Drop back and fall over’ from the playbook,” Johanson said.

“You may not know this, but Marvin has started a men’s fragrance business,” Cassidy said. “It’s different because you put on the fragrance and the other team scores.”

“I thought the best move of the draft was the selection of the punter Kevin Huber because, honestly, who punts more than the Bengals?” Collinsworth said.

Johanson out performed most of the panelists with his sometimes cringe inducing jokes and deadpan delivery.

Collinsworth got fancy and employed video clips to poke fun at the Bengals.

Pictures of Lewis during his childhood were often shown during the roast and one stood out above all others.

During his playing days at Idaho State, Lewis sported one of the most impressive Afro’s I have ever seen.

Following over an hour of harassment by his friends and colleagues, Lewis finally had a chance to fire back at the other jesters in attendance.

“Brad’s broadcasting partner is Dave Lapham,” Lewis said. “When Brad and Dave stand next to each other they form the number ten.”

“I was going to make fun of Munoz, but he struck me a deal on a sofa bed,” Lewis said.

“I coached Merril and sometimes you meet someone who makes an impact in your life and influences you in a great way,” Lewis said. “Thank God Merril met me.”

The event was held in the Duke Energy Center in downtown Cincinnati with an open bar, which I did not allow to go unused. It had fantastic food and each table had complimentary Marvin Lewis Bobbleheads.

Lewis’s mother and father were seated in the front row along with Bengals assistant coach Jay Hayes.

Jordan Palmer was also in attendance and, although I didn’t see them, the Brown family was also apparently in the building.

The event was thoroughly enjoyable and an amazing amount of generosity was displayed by the large crowd.

It goes largely unnoticed how much of an impact Marvin Lewis has had in the Cincinnati community, but there’s no doubt he’s a man who cares deeply for the children of Cincinnati.

Here’s a link to the Big Brother/Big Sister organization of Cincinnati.

Cincinnati Bengals: News and Notes

We can all breathe easy now. Shayne Graham has signed his franchise tender and will not hold out from the Bengals off-season activities. He will be making a guaranteed $2.5 million to routinely kick off to the 15-yard line and miss playoff clinching field goals.

Frankly, I wish the Bengals did what the Seahawks did to LeRoy Hill by finding another kicker and removing the franchise tag from Graham.

Also, the Chiefs signed former Bengals center Eric Ghiaciuc. The signing brings the assurance that the Bengals will not be able to pursue his services. It also assures Domata Peko, Tank Johnson and Pat Sims will each register a sack in Week 16 this season.

Rookie camp started this morning at Paul Brown Stadium and according to Geoff Hobson, Andre Smith was lining up at left tackle and Rey Maualuga was lining up at strong-side linebacker. Shocked that Rey is at the SAM position? You shouldn’t be since it was called right here.

Mike Brown Testimony

Recently the Cincinnati Enquirer published an article concerning the released testimony of Bengals President Mike Brown.

This testimony was during a lawsuit filed by the children of Dutch Knowlton. The Knowlton family believed there was a conflict of interest between Mike Brown and their father’s estate being represented by the same law firm.

I spent an entire night (like a complete loser) reading the transcript. The notes of a guy with absolutely no legal background follow.

• Mike Brown doesn’t know, or believe it’s necessary to know what positions his family members hold in the Bengals front office and does not recall how many bonuses those family members received over the years.
• Mike Brown cannot recall the specific job history of two of the family members he employs to engage in contract negotiations with players.
• Mike Brown admitted there’s no one representing the second largest shareholder of the Bengals on the board of directors.
• Mike Brown admits the same law firm that formerly employed Katie and Troy Blackburn is also represents the Brown family shares of the Bengals. It also was the law firm that represented the estate of the late Dutch Knowlton, the second largest shareholder of the Bengals.
• When the lawyers representing the Knowlton family tried to ask Mike Brown about the dealings of a particular board meeting in 1997, the defense objected and immediately sighted the suspicion of a naming rights debate.
• During a bench conference the judge, not wanting to delve into a previously addressed legal matter, chose to block the points of the unestablished argument of the 1997 board meeting.
• The question was eventually vague enough to address only former disagreements between Mike Brown and Dutch Knowlton, Mike Brown could remember having disagreements with Dutch Knowlton but they could not be recalled specifically.
• Mike Brown repeatedly says he does not recall numerous letters from Dutch Knowlton that objected his actions concerning the Bengals management during the 1990’s.
• Mike Brown did not object to the same firm representing his share of the Bengals also representing the shares of Dutch Knowlton. (Surprise!)
• During the examination by Mike Brown’s attorney, he could easily recall the exchanges between Dutch Knowlton’s representation in earlier years. Whereas during examination of the Knowlton family’s representation, Brown repeatedly couldn’t remember disputes with Knowlton or presented letters with Knowlton.

I believe that Mike Brown has spent most of his time surrounding himself with outstanding attorneys rather than investing that time and money into football talent evaluators or qualified front office staff. In other words, he has built a legal shield to protect himself from any actions that would affect his income and the way he chooses to (cheaply) run the franchise.

I can’t decide how I feel about the Knowlton children. They were estranged from their father and were excluded from his will. It’s possible they were looking to get a cut of his estate instead of purely suing for the sake of their father’s foundation, which is where most of Knowlton’s fortune is invested.

The fact still remains that before Dutch Knowlton’s death, he sold 60 shares of his Bengals stock to Mike Brown for far below the market value. This is odd because Dutch Knowlton and Mike Brown rarely agreed on anything, yet this transaction gave Mike Brown further control over the team.

Attorney Charles Lindberg was the trustee of Knowlton’s foundation, which held the Bengals shares, and also represented Mike Brown at the time of the exchange. I find this fact to be curious. However, the jury upheld the will of Knowlton.

I’m no legal expert but it seems Mike Brown is a scary judge of legal talent. This law suit, Todd Portune’s law suit and even the negotiations of the stadium deal all prove that Mike Brown is one hell of a lawyer. If only he were as good at identifying grid iron ability as he is at finding legal ability we might not have had to suffer through nearly two decades of pathetic football.

Are the Cincinnati Bengals the Next Hard Knocks on HBO?

The Bengals might be the next team to be featured in the HBO series Hard Knocks according to Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Honestly could there be a more intriguing team to cover? You have Chad Ochocinco, Tank Johnson, Chris “The One Man Crime Wave” Henry, and Bernard Scotland Yard.

Is the Scotland Yard thing a stretch? I can never tell.

Anyway, this would make the drudgery of the summer months before real football begins vastly more entertaining than previous years. It would also provide a peak into how the Brown family actually operates(or doesn’t operate depending on your opinion) and more importantly provide us with a glimpse of how the rookies are progressing.

Bob’s Mock NFL Draft

If I were a gambling man, I’d put money on the draft of the 2008 Mock Draft Champion, AKA Zane.

1. Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford, QB Georgia
2. St. Louis: Jason Smith, LT Baylor
3. Kansas City: Aaron Curry, LB Wake Forest
4. Seattle: Eugene Monroe, LT Virginia
5. Cleveland: Michael Crabtree, WR Texas Tech
6. Cincinnati: Andre Smith, LT Alabama
7. Oakland: Jeremy Maclin, WR Missouri
8. Jacksonville: Mark Sanchez, QB USC
9. Green Bay: BJ Raji, DT Boston College
10. San Fransisco: Malcolm Jenkins, CB/S OSU
11. Buffalo: Brandon Pettigrew, TE OK St.
12. Denver Broncos: Tyson Jackson, DE LSU
13. Washington: Brian Orakpo, DE Texas
14. New Orleans: Vontae Davis, CB Illinois
15. Houston: Brian Cushing, LB USC
16. San Diego: Beanie Wells, RB OSU
17. New York (Jets): Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR Maryland
18. Denver (From Chicago): Rey Maualuga, LB USC
19. Tampa Bay: Aaron Maybin, DE PSU
20. Detroit (From Dallas): Michael Oher, LT Ole Miss
21. Philadelphia: Knowshon Moreno, RB Georgia
22. Minnesota: Percy Harvin, WR Florida
23. New England: Clay Matthews Jr., LB USC
24. Atlanta: Robert Ayers, DE Tennessee
25. Miami: Kenny Britt, WR Rutgers
26. Baltimore: Hakeem Nicks, WR UNC
27. Indianapolis: Peria Jerry, DT
28. Buffalo(From Philadelphia): Eben Britton, OT Arizona
29. New York (Giants): Darius Butler, CB UConn
30. Tennessee: Everette Brown, DE FSU
31. Arizona: Donald Brown, RB UConn
32. Pittsburgh: Eric Wood, C U of L

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